STEAMed Magazine April 2015 - Page 9

CRAYONS IN ALGEBRA CLASS?
BY ROBIN WARD and MONICA WILSON
Although there is no shortage of word problems
that require algebra students to compute, graph, and interpret
Conceptual art. LeWitt's wall drawings, which he began making in
slopes and intercepts of lines, many of these problems lack the
1968, are much like musical scores: LeWitt's intention was that they
relevance and true connectivity to capture teens’ interests and
be originated by him, but be carried out by trained artists; hence
which richly engage them in the problem-solving process. This
the idea behind Conceptual Art. For LeWitt, the most important
is not the case when Sol LeWitt’s wall drawings are the focus of
aspect of a work is the artist’s concept, not necessarily the finished
an algebra exploration!
product. According to LeWitt, “…all of the planning and decisions
Born in 1928 in Hartford, Connecticut, Solomon (Sol, for short)
LeWitt is regarded as a founder of both Minimal and
are made beforehand and the execution is a perfunctory affair. The
idea becomes a machine that makes the art.”